


Black Velvet

by perpetuallydreaming



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bad Puns, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Puns & Word Play
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-12-07 11:56:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18234542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perpetuallydreaming/pseuds/perpetuallydreaming
Summary: The Avengers, a rock band in New York, had just made it when tragedy sets them back to the beginning. It isn't until Bucky meets a certain photographer that he finds himself again.





	1. Kickstart My Heart

They had it all. The crowd was wild, they were covered in sweat, and they wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“You’ve all been great tonight! Let’s hear it for everyone that helped put on this show though!” The crowd erupted into cheers that shook the floor beneath Steve’s feet. “Remember to tip the wait staff and don’t text and drive!” Steve bade the crowd his goodnight parting words before walking off the stage. The rest of the band was backstage packing up their instruments and wiping the sweat off their faces. The post-show adrenaline was pumping through their veins and they felt untouchable. They had been working so hard for this break, and the pay off tasted sweeter than they thought possible. 

“That was awesome!” Clint exclaimed pumping his fist that was gripping a broken drumstick. His face was still beat red from the exertion of playing his heart out on his drum set. Bucky chuckled at the man’s antics before speaking up himself. 

“That was more than awesome, man. I’ve never felt more alive!” Bucky said jumping to his feet after closing his bass guitar case. 

“Alright guys, hate to kill the vibe, but we’ve got to get a move on tonight so we can get to the next venue and beat traffic!” Pepper said while directing the crew and answering questions. A chorus of groans followed her statement. 

“Guys, I’m sure Pepper wouldn’t mind the party continuing on the bus, where there are two fully stocked mini bars I might add!” Tony spoke up before kissing Pepper on the cheek. Pepper managed the band, and Tony worked lights and tech, but they worked together on getting everybody to one place.   
“Anyone touch my vodka and I’ll bash your head in with my guitar.” Natasha piped up, her arms wrapped around Bruce, but loosening their hold.

“Don’t worry my Song Bird, I already hid it,” Bruce said smiling. Natasha wrapped her arms around him tightly again before pulling away to pick up her guitar and head towards the tour bus to snag the shower before anyone else did. 

“Hey Tony, is there any mead in those mini bars?” Thor secretively asked with his guitar case slung over his back. 

“Bottom shelf, buddy.” Tony tells him before Thor walks away nodding to him with a smile. Clint joined him as the crew hauled away his broken down drum set, talking to Thor about the third song in their set.

“Looks like it’s you and me pal.” Steve spoke to Bucky as they began making their way to the bus. 

“I’m with you ‘til the end of the line, pal, but tomorrow night we are getting dates.” Bucky said with a chuckle, causing Steve to break out into a laugh.

“Let’s go before they drink all the booze. You know Thor is a bottomless pit.”

“I still swear that guy isn’t human with his tolerance.”  
As Steve and Bucky joined the others on the tour bus drinks were thrusted into their hands by Tony. Clint and Thor were still avidly talking about the set they had just performed. Natasha was sitting beside Bruce, her hair still wet and eyes glued to her phone to mess with the playlist that was booming through the speakers. Tony pulled Pepper over to the couch and pulled out a deck of cards and motioned to Steve and Bucky asking if they wanted to play. Considering the male to female ratio, and the fact that the women there were spoken for they played a different version of strip poker, instead of stripping they would drink. Steve had a surprisingly good poker face, much to the chagrin of Thor. Natasha had the best poker face, while Bruce had the worst. So far Thor and Bruce were tied at how much games each of them lost. Natasha and Bucky were tied at how many games each of them won. Clint was texting on his phone not even paying attention to the game any longer. Pepper was talking to the driver about where they had to go next and the itinerary for the next couple of days, and Tony and Steve were trying to out-maneuver the other. Eventually Tony threw down his cards in frustration. 

“That’s it lady and gents, I’m out for the night.”

“Sounds like someone’s tired of getting their butt kicked to me.” Steve said, not quite under his breath, mockingly. Tony shot Steve a dirty look and began to open his mouth when Pepper sat on his lap completely halting his train of thought. Bucky clapped his hand on Steve’s shoulder before announcing that he was heading to bed before he got dragged into another game. Clint seconded him and followed Bucky to the back of the bus and claiming the bottom center bunk. Tony began feeling drowsy from the alcohol in his system and decided to make his leave. 

“Pep’ honey, I’m gonna go grab a bunk in the back, join me?”

“As soon as we cross state lines, shouldn’t be too long now. Save me some room?”

“You betcha.” Tony hums to her before giving her a kiss goodnight and making his way to the bunk that was sounding cozier by the second. Steve helped Pepper clean up the poker game and various empty glasses. Thor was reading a book on one couch while on the other Natasha was running her hands through Bruce’s hair, who had fallen asleep on the couch beside her. Beside Pepper at the sink Steve spoke up while rinsing out some of the glasses.

“I know I’ve thanked you before Pepper, but we wouldn’t be here on this tour bus without you. I don’t know how you manage to deal with us all sometimes, but I just want you to know that we all appreciate it.”

“Thank you, St-” Pepper was suddenly cut off from a resounding bang from the back of the bus and the bus then lurching violently forward throwing Steve and Pepper off their feet and to the floor. The bus slowly came to a stop on the eerily silent highway. 

“Everyone okay?” The tour bus driver shouted out while checking his rearview mirrors before looking behind him into the bus.

“Uhm, I don’t know. What the hell was that?” Steve spoke up as he helped Pepper to her feet. Pepper looked around before making her way to the back of the bus. Steve walked up to the bus driver. 

“Looks like a semi behind us, must have hit us. I’m gonna step out and see how bad it is and call 911.” The bus driver said before letting himself off the bus with his phone in hand. Steve turned around when he heard a blood-curdling scream that made his blood run cold. He ran to the back of the bus where Pepper stood frozen. Clint was trying to guide her out of the bunk area when Steve noticed the thin line of blood coming from his ear and panic shot through his veins. Steve looked into the bottom right bunk that was at the very back of the bus and what he saw made his heart stop. Inside Bucky's bunk was not only Bucky, but part of the semi that crashed into the tour bus. A very pale Bucky laid in his bunk knocked out and his left arm was missing. Steve reached out two fingers to his best friends neck looking for a pulse. His hands were shaking so much he almost didn’t feel the faint pulse, but when he did he let out a sigh of relief. Steve began pulling his belt from his waist before carefully climbing over bucky and using it as a makeshift tourniquet to keep Bucky from losing anymore blood. Steve knew from his mom being a nurse that no matter how much he wanted to get his best friend out of there that he had to leave him there for the paramedics, otherwise he could risk paralyzing Bucky if he wasn’t already. Steve took a deep breath and did the hardest thing he’s ever had to do in his life and turn his back to Bucky. He took a step forward and looked into the bunk that caused Pepper to scream. Tony laid there with pieces of shrapnel in his chest. For the second time that night Steve reached out with two fingers to find a pulse. Tony’s pulse was also faint, but it was still there. At that moment Steve heard the sound of sirens quickly approaching and prayed that his friends would get to a hospital in time. 

With Bruce in front, Natasha road with Pepper in the back of the ambulance carrying Tony to the hospital while Thor took the front and Steve and Clint road in the back of the ambulance that carried Bucky. Before Steve knows it, they’re at the hospital and Bucky and Tony are rushed back into the OR while Clint is ushered to the ER and the rest are left in the waiting room. Steve sits in the chair wringing his hands. Staring at them. He can’t help but be disgusted with the amount of Bucky’s blood that is still on them. He gets up and heads to the restroom to wash them and scrubs them until they are raw. He walks back into the waiting room and eye’s the group. Natasha had headed to the ER room that Clint was in to check on him. Thor was pacing the room. Bruce was outside smoking a cigarette, a stress habit he had quit a couple of months ago, but tonight it was back in full swing. Pepper sat in the corner crying constantly looking up at the clock or the doors every time she heard a shoe squeak across the shiny tile floor. The hospital had that sterile smell hanging in the air that made Steve’s stomach lurch. He took a seat, put his head in his hands, and waited.   
An hour and a half later, Clint and Natasha join them in the waiting room. Clint silently takes a seat beside Steve and leans forward to put his head in his hands. Steve looks to Natasha having noticed the devastated look on Clint’s face. Natasha fixed the grimace from her face and took a deep breath before she spoke, leaning into Bruce for comfort.

“The accident caused Clint’s eardrums to rupture. That’s why there was blood, he uhm, he’ll need hearing aids to be able to hear again.” Bruce wrapped his arm tighter around Natasha to comfort her. Steve shook his head before putting a comforting arm around Clint’s shoulders. Clint looked up at Steve, and he saw his bloodshot eyes. The night seemed like it would never end. Another hour and a half later, a doctor still in scrubs walks out of the OR doors. Everyone’s heads lift up and their stomachs fill with dread. In this moment they would find out the status of one of their friends. And they weren’t ready for the news if it was bad.  
“Barnes family?” The doctor called out. Steve raised to his feet and made his way over to the doctor. He felt as if his heart was going to beat out of his chest.

“Is he-” Steve clears his throat as he trips on the words. “Is he okay, doc?”

“He no longer has a left arm. He’ll have to stay in the hospital for at least the next two weeks as he recovers. He’s gonna be in a lot of pain, however, he should make a full recovery. As soon as the nurses get him situated in a room one will come out and take you to him. He wouldn’t be here if someone hadn’t fastened their belt as a tourniquet. I’m not gonna sugar coat it, he’s got a long road ahead of him, son.” The doctors noted somberly before walking away. Steve lets out a breath he’s been holding and his shoulders drop slightly from all the tension he had been holding in anticipation. Natasha walked up to Steve to see what the doctor had said fearing the worst. 

“He’s okay.” Steve managed to croak out before tears of relief shed down his face. Natasha wrapped her arms around him while shooting the others behind him a thumbs up to let them know Bucky was okay. The sigh of relief from the group was audible, and as the doctor said, a nurse was out shortly taking Steve, Natasha, and Clint to Bucky’s room. Another painstaking forty-three minutes later another doctor walks out of the OR.

“Stark?” The doctor called out looking around the room. 

“Uh, yeah, that’s uhm, that’s me.” Pepper spoke up clumsily. 

“He made it out of surgery fine and we were able to remove most of the shrapnel. There are a few pieces left behind that were too difficult to risk removing so he’ll have to get regular doctors visits to keep an eye on them, but other than that he should make a full recovery. A nurse will be out shortly to let you know where his room is.” Pepper let out an audible cry of relief at the news, throwing her arms around Bruce in a hug. Thor wrapped his arms around the both of them.   
Steve sat on Bucky’s right at his bedside listening to the strong and steady beat of Bucky’s heart. He could hear Clint tapping his fingers to the steady rhythm against his legs, he didn’t know if Clint could hear the loud beeping or if it was a result of him watching the heart monitor. Everything was sinking in for Steve and he was exhausted. However, he couldn’t wrap his mind around how fast things had changed in an instant. Steve didn’t know what they were going to do for once in his life. 

The next couple days passed by in a blur. Tony was the first to wake up, and Pepper couldn’t stop crying when she saw him open his dark chocolate brown eyes. Another day later Bucky woke up only to be sedated when he started panicking when he saw a doctor and noticed his missing arm. He slept for another day before he woke up again. Steve was more prepared for his reaction this time, and was the first person he saw instead of some stranger. When Steve explained to Bucky what happened Bucky started crying. He didn’t like crying in front of people, but the weight of everything seemed to crash down around him. Everything they had been working for was gone. He couldn’t play his bass guitar anymore, Clint couldn’t hear, Tony would be living in fear that a piece of leftover shrapnel could kill him one day. Bucky couldn’t even begin to wrap his mind around the fact that his arm was gone. The phantom pain taunted him and was a constant reminder that he would never be the same. Eventually the doctor got him set up with a special type of physical therapy for amputees. They called it mirror box therapy, basically Bucky would complete physical therapy in front a of a mirror to re-map neural pathways in his brain so his mind could register that his limb was no longer there. At first it just seemed like another cruel reminder to him. He hated looking at himself in the mirror now. 

Once Bucky completed his physical therapy his doctor talked to him about a new arm. There was an experimental program for a prosthetic that would allow Bucky to have some feeling and potentially be able to play his guitar again. Bucky jumped at the opportunity and the doctor put him in contact with Doctor Shuri who would have the new prosthetic fitted for him and would help him adjust to his new life style. 

It took Bucky a bit to get used to his new arm, but it didn’t lack dexterity and the first day with his new arm he locked himself in his room in the apartment he shared with Steve and practiced strumming on his guitar. It was clumsy at first, he often pressed down on more than one chord when he didn’t mean to. He almost gave up until Steve suggested plucking with his metal arm and putting the fret in his right. It took some adjustments, and Bucky had to get his guitar restringed so the strings would be in the correct order again, but slowly he regained his first real sense of normalcy. It took months, but eventually the guys in the band started practising again. Clint had to adjust the sensitivity of his hearing aids a couple times, and Bucky fumbled more than he’d like to admit, but eventually the band hammered out the basics of covers of songs they knew by heart that helped them get noticed, and some original songs of theirs.   
When the first anniversary of the accident came they had a bonfire on Clint’s farm in upstate New York. They sat around the fire talking about life and eventually talking about the shows they played. They missed it. They missed playing in front of a crowd. They missed the adrenaline after the show. By the end of the night, they called up Pepper with their decision that within six months, they would be back on the road. They had been practicing, that had healed, and they had the workings for a new album. Steve had dealt with the accident by not only writing music, but drawing up album artwork that at the time he thought would never see the light of day. 

The following week the band met up at the studio and locked themselves away for 3 weeks working on the new songs until the album was finished. Pepper began contacting and booking venues. The band was worried that with the accident happening so soon after their break into the industry they may have slipped off the radar. That was until the most esteemed rock music magazine contacted Pepper when they caught buzz that the band would begin playing again. Shield magazine had interviewed the likes of Marvin Gaye, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Motley Crue, Led Zeppelin, and countless others that the band looked up to. The magazine wanted to send out an interviewer and photographer to their first show to get their comeback story. Pepper granted them access, and the band was simultaneously more excited and more anxious for their first show. Bucky was a bundle of raw nerves. He was terrified that people would look at him differently with his prosthetic, or that he would fumble and screw up the show in front of a huge audience considering the show had sold out the day tickets were released. The night of the show Bucky thought he might actually throw up on stage. Steve had to give him a pep talk to calm him down. 

“You’re gonna do fine Buck. You’ve put in countless hours practising and dare I say, you may even sound better now than you did before. You got this man. Either way, I’m with you ‘til the end of the line.” Steve told Bucky with his hands on his shoulders. Steve knew how insecure Bucky was about his arm, always covering up the black and gold-toned prosthetic. 

“Thanks punk.” Bucky replied to Steve after taking a deep breath. Bucky pulled his bass out of its case and slung the strap around his right shoulder. He practiced a few runs to calm his nerves before plugging his bass into the amp. Each of the band members took one last look at each other heading on stage for the first time since their lives had changed twice in one night.


	2. You Can't Always Get What You Want

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky is anxious about the bands interview with Shield Magazine. Will his interview be more than about his arm? And what happens when he meets a certain photographer for the magazine?

Adrenaline was pumping through Bucky’s veins as he walked with the others backstage to put their instruments away. The show had gone off without a hitch. Bucky couldn’t even feel the phantom pain in his shoulder anymore, whether that was due to the adrenaline or not he had no clue. He lifted the strap to his red bass from his shoulder and put the guitar into its case. Bucky lifted the bottom of his faded black t-shirt to his face to wipe off his sweat covered face.

“Man, I broke four drumsticks, that was awesome!” Clint said excitedly. 

“Barton, only you would be excited about breaking a part of your instrument.” Tony replied with a smirk as he walked over to the group. Clint’s only response was a shit eating grin.

“Alright, all of you have an interview and pictures to take with people from Shield Magazine. They’re are waiting for you at the bar. If you want to change, I suggest you do so now and quickly.” Pepper spoke to the group. Before she could even finish her sentence Natasha was bolting for the shower on the bus. Bucky didn’t blame her since he was the only person in the group that had longer hair like hers, and nothing felt more gross after a show than sweaty hair sticking to your neck. He made his way to the bus with everyone and waited for the shower while the others changed. As Bucky waited for the shower he had time to think of the interview. The adrenaline must have left his system because he felt himself getting more and more nervous. He had never been interviewed by a magazine before. What kind of questions were they going to ask? Were they going to ask about his arm? People always did when they saw it, or else they would stare at it. It was why he always wore layers or at least long sleeves. The longer he thought about it, the more his shoulder would hurt. He didn’t get phantom pains too often anymore. The therapy he had to complete helped with that. However, Bucky had found that whenever he got too stressed out, particularly about his shoulder or the accident, the phantom pain would reappear. As if he needed another reminder of what he lost. 

“Earth to Bucky. You okay?” Natasha stood in front of him, her hand on his flesh shoulder. 

“Uh, yeah. Just nervous about the interview I guess and kinda zoned out. I’m fine. Meet you out there?” Bucky asked as he was practically closing the bathroom door. He didn’t want to talk about it. He was done talking about how the accident still haunted him. He hadn’t left his apartment more than necessary since, and he hadn’t even talked to girl besides Pepper or Natasha. Bucky took off his shirt and did the one thing he typically avoided. He looked in the mirror. His shoulder had healed but it had left angry scars behind. Some from himself when he would have nightmares about the accident and Steve would have to wake him up with his flesh hand pinned down to his side. He had started sleeping with a t-shirt on to try to keep himself from clawing at his shoulder from there on out. Bucky screwed his eyes shut and took a couple deep breaths. He turned around before opening his eyes and finished getting undressed and showered.

Bucky threw on a pair of ripped jeans after his shower and his favorite red henley. The fabric of the shirt irritated his scars the least and it covered his arm. He nearly grabbed his leather jacket, but decided against it knowing he would get way too warm inside the crowded venue. Slowly, he made his way into the venue to get the interview over with and hoped to god that they wouldn’t ask about the accident or his arm. When Bucky walked up to the bar at the concert venue he saw Clint talking to a woman with long brown hair and a pen in her hands. 

“Nice shirt.” Bucky over heard the woman say with a smirk on her face. Bucky glanced at the shirt Clint had changed into. The words “save a drum, bang a drummer” printed across his chest. 

“Thanks, and for the record, if I were a drum I'd let you bang me all night long!” Clint replied to the woman with a wink. Bucky chuckled and then let out a sigh of relief. He knew nothing he would say in his interview could be as cringe worthy as that. Bucky sat down at the bar waiting for Clint’s interview to be over and ordered three shots of tequila to further calm his nerves. When he was about to down the third he noticed a woman so beautiful that he nearly choked swallowing the burning liquid. He couldn’t even see half of your face since it was hidden behind the camera in her hands, but he knew just from your eyes that you were the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Bucky’s nerves skyrocketed for the umpteenth time that night. Then he saw you pull your camera away from your face and let it hang from the strap around your neck. You looked directly at Bucky and sent him a shy smirk that took his breath away. Then you started walking towards him. In that moment, Bucky knew he was screwed. 

“So, you’re the elusive bassist.” you said. Bucky decided in that moment that your voice was the most beautiful thing he had heard in his life. Realizing you had asked a question, he cocked his head slightly with a smile ghosting his lips. 

“I’m sorry, elusive?” Bucky was confused, had he missed something?

“Your, uh, friend Steve. He went to introduce you to us and couldn’t find you. If I hadn’t seen you on stage myself, with pictures to prove it, I probably would have believed that you were just his Snuffleupagus.” You said with a giggle.

“Ya know, I’ve been called a lot of things, ‘Snuffleupagus’ definitely isn’t one of them.” Bucky replied with a teasing grin on his face before he broke out into a chuckle.

“Oh really? Would one of those things happen to be your name? Steve never got around to introducing you since you poofed on him. I mean, I’m fine with calling you Mr. Snuffleupagus if you’d like.” You were teasing him now, but he seemed game for it. There was something about this man that was bring you out of your shell. It terrified you, but something about him calmed you too. 

“Just Snuffleupagus will do. No, I’m kidding! Uh, my friends call me Bucky.”

“Bucky,” you said with a shy smile on your face that Bucky found absolutely adorable. “Darn, Snuffleupagus was kinda growing on me.”

“You two need anything to drink?” The bartender asked since she had a moment to come down and check on the of you. 

“Uhm, I’ll have what he’s having.” You reply to the bartender as you hop onto the stool next to Bucky’s.

“She’ll have a screaming orgasm.” Bucky said nearly causing you to choke on your saliva. The bemused look on your face caused Bucky to chuckle. You looked up at the man and saw the shit eating grin on his face that told you he was pulling your leg. “I’m kidding, can we get two shots of tequila each, please?” The bartender gave a nod before pouring the shots and walking away to check on the other patrons.

“Screaming orgasm, huh?” You tried to school the look on your face to one that looked unamused with his joke.

“Sorry, I had to get back at you for calling me imaginary! The opportunity presented itself and I couldn’t resist!” Bucky replied trying to repress the chuckle at the scowl on your face. He could tell you were only pretending to be mad at him for the fact you were actively trying not to smile. “Forgive me?” He said with his best puppy dog eyes.

“Hmmm, on one condition.” You said with an evil smirk forming on your face.

“Name it.” Bucky said before downing the first shot.

“Give me your best pick up line, because that one was way too easy and you know it.” Bucky rose his hand to his chin, stroking it as if he were in deep thought before letting out a chortle. 

“Call me AC/DC, because I’m gonna leave you shook all night long.” You had to bite back a laugh at the classic rock song reference, but a giggle managed its way past your lips. 

“Well, then you can call me Scorpion, because I’m gonna rock you like a hurricane.” You replied back with your own classic rock reference that caused Bucky’s eyes to light up before he burst into a laugh. You couldn’t help but laugh with him. You also couldn’t help but notice that you loved the sound of his laugh and that you would gladly continue sharing cheesy pick up lines if it meant that you could hear him laugh more. The smile that formed on his face caused your heart to flutter. 

You took one of your shots to distract yourself. You managed to swallow the shot without coughing at the burning sensation that engulfed your throat, however you didn’t manage to hide your face scrunching up. Bucky saw the way your face scrunched up after downing the shot and knew he had never seen something so adorable. 

“So, I may have been elusive earlier, but you’ve managed to elude from telling me your name. Unless, of course, you really want me to call you ‘Scorpion.’” 

“Oh god, no thank you. My name is Y/N.” 

“Y/N. It’s pretty like you.” Bucky said causing you to blush. The sight of your flushed cheeks caused his heart to flutter in his chest like a hummingbird. “So, if you don’t mind my asking, what drew you to photography?” Bucky asked you and you could tell he was genuinely curious. 

“Well, when I was about seventeen I would go see local bands play around town and I ended up falling in love with concerts. I noticed that there’s this moment that if you stop paying attention to the band and look around you can see the magic of it all. Everyone is jammed into the tight space listening to their favorite band play and for however long the bands set lasts the world can’t touch anyone in the room. For that set nobody’s problems exist. It’s just magical. Anyway, I always loved music, but I never had any musical talent. After a couple of shows I ended up finding my groove and getting some good shots, enough that the band members liked them and used them. After that I knew that that was what I wanted to do.” You rambled out as you felt heat rush to your face. No one had ever asked why you chose photography, though they always managed to give you their unwarranted opinions. So you had never told anyone your reasoning, and suddenly you felt a bit self conscious telling Bucky. You hadn’t realized it, but during your explanation you had let your eyes drop down to the shot glasses in front of you. It wasn’t until you finished speaking that you looked up to see the enamored look on Bucky’s face. Really if anyone understood, it would probably be him. You couldn’t keep track of how many times you heard someone in the arts say how they were discouraged from their profession. 

“You know, I thought I was the only who would actually take the time to look out into the crowd to see that. It really is magical. Easily my favorite part of the night to be honest.” 

“So, uhm, why did you become a bassist?”

“Steve and I were always getting into some sort of trouble, he got picked on because before he hit puberty he was probably the scrawniest kid you’d ever seen. That never stopped him from standing up for the little, even though he was literally a little guy, and I always had his back. Well, my uncle actually had a guitar and a bass guitar in his garage and my ma had told him what was going on. So in an effort to help her and keep up out of trouble he taught us how to play. Steve was a natural at the guitar so I picked up the bass. Then whenever I would get stressed or anxious about something or whenever I just needed to escape life I would just pull out my bass guitar and start strumming. Eventually we ran into Clint, he alway had a pair of drumsticks on him and we asked him to join us. Steve doesn’t play unless he’s playing acoustic now since we found Thor, and we heard Natasha singing one day and playing guitar in the band room while we were in high school and we asked if she would want to join a bunch of dudes in a rock band. We’ve all been inseparable ever since.”

“Wow. Really though, Steve? Scrawny?” Bucky couldn’t help but laugh at your bemusement. He couldn’t fault you for it either, during high school Steve bulked up. If Bucky hadn’t witnessed it he probably wouldn’t believe it either. 

“Yeah, I got pictures I could show you back at my ma’s.”

“There’s evidence? Now this I’ll have to see!” Bucky couldn’t help but love your wit. He was laughing more tonight than he had in the last year and half. It wasn’t until you cocked your head slightly that Bucky realized he had just been staring at you for a bit too long.

“Ya know doll, I don't know how many times you've thrown me off-beat by being next to me.” For a second Bucky panicked. He had no idea why he had said that. It was the truth, but he hadn’t meant to say it out loud. He panicked not wanting to look like an idiot and said the first thing that had come to mind. It wasn’t until you giggled with a blush on your face that he let out a sigh of relief. 

“Oh really? Well in that case, I bet we could get in some serious treble together if we aren’t careful.” You replied with a wink. 

“Ya know, I haven’t laughed this much in a while.” Bucky admitted honestly. The admission broke your heart. You knew about the accident, that he had lost his arm. You had actually attended the show that night and had seen him play. It was one of your rare nights off when a band was playing. You couldn’t begin to imagine what that night, and every day after must have been like for him, but you were glad he was here in front of you now. 

“Ya know, they say laughing adds eight minutes on to your life.” 

“Hey Y/N, can I grab you for a sec?” The woman that was talking to Clint walks up to the two of you.

“Uh, sure Laura. Just a sec Bucky.” You told him, not wanting to leave. He nodded his head in acknowledgement. 

“So the bar closes in like five minutes. Is there any chance that while the two of you were flirting you got anything for a quote I could use?”

“Laura! Okay, one, you were flirting with Clint and don’t you dare deny it. Two, maybe, but I’d rather ask him first.”

“You’re the best! So, you gonna give him your number?” You thought on it for a minute before you decided.

“Do you have the flyer for their next show on you still?”

“Yeah.” She said as she began digging through her bag for the flyer and a pen. “Here ya go.” You took the flyer and pen and twirled your finger for her to turn around so you could use her back to write on. You quickly wrote on the flyer before folding it up and handing Laura back her pen. 

“Thanks Laur, you’re the best!” You told her as you walked back to the bar.

“Hey, uhm, Bucky?”

“What’s up, doll?”

“Laura meant to interview you, but she ran out of time, do you mind if I use the seeing out into the crowd thing as a quote from you for her?” Bucky noticed the folded up paper in your hands and for a moment he was disappointed, he was hoping you were gonna ask if he wanted your number.

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Bucky told you, a smile of relief flooding your features. “Doll?”

“Yeah?”

“I, uh, really appreciated tonight,” Bucky said as he rubbed the back of his neck with his flesh hand. “Do you think, I could see you again sometime?” He managed to mumble out the words quickly before he lost what little nerve he had. His heart rate picked up when he saw the playful smirk on your face. You took another two steps closer so you were standing between his legs. You could smell the faint scent of his shampoo. You put a hand on his arm while the other hand slipped the folded up flyer into his pocket. You leaned up so your lips were close to his ear.

“You can’t always get what you want.” You whispered as you stepped back with the mirk still on your face and a look of confusion on his. You winked at him before walking back to join Laura and head to the office to work on the article. 

Bucky sat there completely confused. He realized you slipped something into his right pocket and pulled it out. Before he opened it he realized you had touched his prosthetic arm and neither of you were phased. For the first time in a long time, Bucky felt normal. He carefully opened the piece of paper with shaky hands. It was the flyer for their next show for the day after tomorrow. The date, time and venue were circled, and written below in slightly messy handwriting was ‘but if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need.’

 


End file.
